Kings XI Punjab were defending a low score of 119-8, but made vital early breakthroughs by dismissing Mumbai Indians key openers Sanath Jayasuriya (nought) and Sachin Tendulkar (one) by the eighth ball of their innings.
Heading towards the mid-innings break, the Mumbai Indians lost the wicket of Dwayne Bravo (15 off 20 balls), going for a big hit after smacking a couple of boundaries. This left his side on 45-4, not out of it, but the Mumbai Indians faced an uphill struggle from that point.
Bravo and Jean-Paul Duminy (59 off 63 balls, four fours) had added 33 for the fourth wicket, and the Cape left-hander and Abishek Nayar (15 off 15 balls) kept the victory quest on course with a stand of 49 for the fifth wicket.
Duminy paced the chase well, but when the requirement was seven runs off three balls in the final over of the innings, his attempt to hit a six was well held on the midwicket boundary by the substitute fielder Taruwar Kohli.
Seven off two balls became five to win off one and the Mumbai Indians could only manage a single and a total of 116-7.
The Kingsmead wicket was slower than usual, making scoring a little tougher for both teams. That brought spin into the picture more, and a few slow bowlers had short but useful spells on the night.
Perhaps the most important over in the match by a spinner was the 19th of the Mumbai Indians innings, bowled by Piyush Chawla. Stand-in Kings XI Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara had Abdulla ready to bowl that over, but changed his mind, and roped in Chawla instead. The 20-year-old leg-spinner struck an important blow by having big-hitter Harbhajan Singh caught in the deep for six off the first ball, and conceding only seven runs in the over.
Left-arm seamers Abdulla (2-19) and Irfan Pathan (2-20) played important roles too in scripting a victory for the Kings XI Punjab.
Sangakkara, named man of the match for his 45 not out, said he was fortunate to have possibly the best leg-spinner in India and world cricket at his disposal. “He came to me and said he could bowl (that over). Then we had a cushion for Yusuf Abdulla in the last over,”
Sangakkara added. “Our catching was outstanding. All those little things helped… the guys all chipped in; it was a great team effort.”
Losing captain Sachin Tendulkar said the lack of a major partnership or two was a shortcoming in their performance on Wednesday night. “After the first half (of the game), I thought we were in a good position… but it was one of those games where the pressure built up. But there are many more games and we will pull up our socks,” said Tendulkar.
The Kings XI Punjab side would not have been too happy with their score of 119-8, with three of their “big names” in Ravi Bopara (six), Yuvraj Singh (10) and Mahela Jayawardene (seven) falling cheaply.
Again they had to rely on Sangakkara to get them to a credible total.
Against the Rajasthan Royals at Newlands on Sunday his 60 off 50 balls was pivotal in victory and on Wednesday night he contributed a top score of 45 not out off 44 balls, hitting two fours and a six.
The next best contribution of 17 to the Kings XI Punjab total came from extras, 11 of those being wides. At the 10-over break the Kings XI Punjab were on an average-looking 50-3, but seemed on course for a score of 130-plus with Sangakkara committed to batting through.
The Mumbai Indians, though, shared the last four overs among seasoned campaigners Lasith Malinga (two), Zaheer Khan and Dwayne Bravo.
Malinga proved virtually unplayable to the lower middle-order, and in the 17th over he shattered the stumps of Wilkin Mota (five) and Piyush Chawla (nought), and finished with 2-12. His performance lifted him to
11 wickets from five matches, and the lead in the race for the purple cap.
The Kings XI Punjab's 119-8 contained just four fours and two sixes - the lowest boundary tally in an innings lasting 20 overs in the 2009 season of the DLF IPL.
The Mumbai Indians hit seven fours and a six in their innings.
